Onondaga Lake, NY

Split-spoon auger samples during field analysis

Crew member recording auger samples

In 2012, GRA was subcontracted to conduct a geoarcheological survey of a wetland on the eastern shore of Onondaga Lake, as part of a cultural resources assessment prior to contamination remediation efforts.

Geoarcheology Research Associates (GRA) of Yonkers, NY was contracted by the Public Archaeology Facility (PAF) of Binghamton, NY to conduct a geoarcheological study of the wetlands in Syracuse, NY on the eastern shore of Onondaga Lake. The project area was slated for environmental remediation work, with the potential to impact underlying deposits of possible archeological sensitivity. GRA conducted a systematic survey involving deep testing in an effort to identify any intact historic and prehistoric surfaces beneath the 20th century fill deposits.

Analysis of boring samples collected during fieldwork did not identify any buried, intact living surfaces of prehistoric age. Examination of historic sediments revealed the likely contours of the abandoned Iron Pier Harbor.